The Ministry of Education and Sports in Uganda has announced plans to recruit 6,000 additional secondary school teachers for seed schools, starting in the 2024/2025 financial year. This recruitment drive will target both science and arts teachers, focusing on essential subjects and popular elective courses typically selected by students after Senior 2 at the O level.
Dennis Mugimba, the ministry’s spokesperson, highlighted that the recruitment process will be phased due to budgetary constraints. Initially, around 2,075 teachers will be hired in the current financial year, with further recruitment planned for the years ahead.
This initiative is part of the government’s broader educational expansion strategy, which includes the establishment of 117 new schools under the second phase of the Uganda Intergovernmental Fiscal Transfers (UGIFT) program. Of these, 83 schools will be launched this financial year. Each school will be staffed with 31 teachers, with appointments based on the compulsory subjects outlined in the lower secondary curriculum.
In addition, the government is set to construct 46 secondary schools within this financial year to improve educational access. The long-term goal is to establish seed schools in every subcounty, town council, or city division that currently lacks a public secondary school.
Regarding the recruitment process, Mugimba emphasized that job openings will be publicly advertised, urging eligible candidates to apply. He assured the public that the selection process would be free from corruption, stressing that volunteering would not be considered a qualification for employment. Mugimba also acknowledged the issue of ghost teachers and mentioned that manpower audits would be conducted to address this problem.
On the subject of teacher absenteeism and early retirement, Mugimba categorized these as disciplinary issues and forms of corruption. He assured that such incidents do not severely impact the government, as there is a large pool of young candidates ready to fill the positions. He also encouraged teachers to remain patient as salary enhancements are rolled out gradually.
Despite these measures, Filbert Baguma, the General Secretary of the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), expressed concerns over the sufficiency of the plan. He argued that recruiting 6,000 teachers would not significantly address the current high student-teacher ratio. Baguma also pointed out that the teaching profession is becoming less attractive, leading to an increase in the number of teachers leaving their jobs.